1,000 Customers Reap Cost and Time Savings and Achieve More Innovative Designs

PARIS, June 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:
ADSK), a world leader in 2D and 3D design and engineering software, today announced at the International Paris Air Show that the company now has more than 1,000 customers in the aerospace and defense industry.

"Our rapidly expanding aerospace customer base is a testament to the strength of the Autodesk solution for
Digital Prototyping," said Robert "Buzz" Kross, senior vice president, Manufacturing Industry Group at Autodesk. "Today we are uniquely positioned to help aerospace suppliers and manufacturers get more innovative products to market faster through less reliance on costly physical prototypes."

A growing list of large and small manufacturers in the aerospace sector relies on
Autodesk Inventor software and the complete solution for Digital Prototyping to overcome a wide variety of business challenges. The Autodesk solution for Digital Prototyping brings together design data from all phases of the product development process into a single digital model created in Inventor.

ADEPT Airmotive, a South Africa-based manufacturer of general aviation engines for the light aircraft market, relied on Autodesk Inventor software to develop the 320T, a 320-horsepower general aviation engine with a compact design that offers low vibration levels and high structural integrity.

Inventor software's Digital Prototyping capabilities helped ADEPT produce accurate 3D models of the 320T before anything was actually built, reducing the number of physical prototypes that needed to be constructed. Processes that once took hours - such as changing the wall thickness of an engine component - were completed almost instantaneously with Autodesk Inventor software. As a result, engineers were able to spend less time constructing geometric models and more time creating innovative designs, and then simulating the performance of the designs under real-world conditions.

U.S.-based Gemcor, which designs and sells custom machinery and tooling for aircraft parts assembly, has used Inventor for nearly five years. By putting aircraft part designs into Inventor, Gemcor can simulate dynamic assemblies and test how machines will fasten together the different parts such as a wing panel or fuselage.

"With Inventor, we've streamlined our entire design and engineering process to accomplish more with fewer resources," said Bill Mangus, Gemcor president and CEO.

The St. Petersburg Aircraft Repair Company (SPARC), one of Russia's leading aircraft repair companies, employs Inventor to design assemblies within its helicopter maintenance center, develop service and training documentation on aircraft repairs and enhance project management.

"Many of our projects involve the management of large aircraft assemblies and the handling of huge volumes of data," said Dmitry Khohlov, SPARC department chief. "Autodesk Inventor has proved invaluable in processing and managing all of this material efficiently but has also supported innovation and aided the decision-making process through its 3D visualization capabilities."

Techman-Head recently licensed Autodesk Inventor software to digitally design its mechanical and hydraulic aircraft maintenance tools. Inventor software has helped the French company design, visualize and simulate its tools for Airbus and Boeing planes before they are produced.

"What we like most about Autodesk Inventor is its ease of use. Inventor helps us rapidly design a range of maintenance tools, and the software suite's power makes it ideal for the development of our tool parts," said Philippe Chirade, design office manager at Techman-Head. "It also offers a range of native converters that can read and write files from and to other CAD applications, and standard converters such as STEP."

Autodesk in Aerospace

The Autodesk solution for Digital Prototyping helps aerospace suppliers and manufacturers bring together design data from all phases of the product development process to develop a single digital model created in Inventor software. The single digital model simulates the complete product and gives engineers the ability to design, visualize and simulate their product with less reliance on costly physical prototypes - thereby helping to improve time to market and increase competitive advantage.

About Autodesk

Autodesk, Inc., is a world leader in 2D and
3D design software for the manufacturing, building and construction, and media and entertainment markets. Since its introduction of AutoCAD software in 1982, Autodesk has developed the broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art Digital Prototyping solutions to help customers experience their ideas before they are real. Fortune 1000 companies rely on Autodesk for the tools to visualize, simulate and analyze real-world performance early in the design process to save time and money, enhance quality and foster innovation. For additional information about Autodesk, visit
www.autodesk.com.

Autodesk, AutoCAD, Autodesk Inventor and Inventor are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names or trademarks belong to their respective holders. Autodesk reserves the right to alter product offerings and specifications at any time without notice, and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document.